Browsing by Subject "Raamattu"

The aim of this thesis is to study class teachers' opinions on teaching the Bible in Religious Education. The objective of the research is to find answers to the following research questions: What do the class teachers think about teaching the Bible in the school context, and why do they find teaching the Bible important or unimportant? What kinds of methods do they use when teaching the Bible and why? How and how much is the Bible used as a book when teaching its' contents? The data of this study consists of semi-structured interviews of ten class teachers. These teachers taught third or fourth grade in Southwest Finland and Helsinki metropolitan area. The data was analysed by means of data-based content analysis. The teachers mainly thought that teaching the Bible is an important part of Religious Education, and it has the same functions and goals as teaching Religious Education in general. This opinion was based on pupils' knowledge concerning their own religious tradition, transferring ethical values, common knowledge, and personal meanings. If a teacher didn't find teaching the Bible important, then teaching was justified by following the curriculum. The teachers used different kinds of methods for teaching the Bible. They based their decisions on resources, routines, teaching learning skills, achieving good learning results, connecting the content in pupils' personal experiences, and their own personal interests. The Bible as a book was used as a reference book, a storybook, and as the teacher's source material. According to the results, these teachers can be divided into four categories: critical, emotional, balanced, and distant teachers of the Bible.